In numerous trades, it is often necessary to install and remove fasteners such as hex head fasteners in rapid succession. Adding difficulty is the fact that the fasteners must often be inserted and removed while a person is in an awkward position, such as when the person is on a roof or ladder. Various tools exist in the prior art for driving hex head fasteners. However, these tools are often limiting and encumbering, are designed to accommodate a single size or type of hex fastener, do not have a magnetic tip, and are typically only hand-driven. Therefore, at present, tradesmen must purchase and carry many different tools to perform various jobs. This situation increases the risk of being injured while performing the jobs as well as increasing the time to complete each job.
The socket driving tool of the instant invention eliminates the deficiencies present in prior art tools by producing a tool that: uses two sockets that are retained on a tool drive shaft and that can be arranged to provide four different fastener cavities, includes a magnetic tip that allows a fastener to be held while inserting or removing a fastener, and allows a fastener to be inserted or removed quickly and easily with only one hand.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any literature or U.S. patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention. However, the following U.S. patents are considered related:
U.S. PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED6,354,175Dobson, et al12 Mar. 20026,330,844Walker18 Dec. 20015,048,379Gramera, et al17 Sep. 1991
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,175 patent discloses a tool for driving headed fasteners that includes an opening that is defined by a wall of the tool. The wall has a plurality of flat planar surfaces that are connected at the ends of each planar surface to define the opening. Each connection surface includes a convex surface that is continuous with the planar surface, and a concave surface that is continuous with the convex surface. The convex and concave surfaces define arcs having the same radius.
The U.S. Pat. No. 6,330,844 patent discloses a self-contained multi-use tool for tightening or loosening a range of screws, nuts and bolts. The tool consists of various screw bits and an adapter that includes a holder and a nut driver set. All the tool elements fit together in a decreasing order and can be stored on the back or inside of the handle. Each socket head is dimensioned to allow threaded bolts or rods of the associated nuts to extend through.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,379 patent discloses a multi-functional, double-ended socket wrench. The wrench is designed to accept an English or metric sized nut and bolt engaging means on one socket cavity and the closest English or metric sized nut engaging means in an opposite socket cavity. Both cavities are designed to engage and rotate hexagonal nuts attached on bolt studs.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents found in the search:
U.S. PAT. NO.INVENTORISSUED1,478,736Gadberry25 Dec. 19231,469,589Palmer2 Oct. 1923